Nearly four years ago, as a result of the crossing of local Catalan varieties with Italian tomatoes, the Monterosa variety was born, developed by Semillas Fitó. It is a tomato designed to bring back the traditional flavour of the 'home-grown' summer tomatoes on the Mediterranean coast, but with a harvest schedule focused on the winter and spring.
"Despite the fact that the Monterosa was conceived four years ago, it was commercially discarded given the failure to find an adequate production area, until I discovered it about three years ago and decided to throw all my efforts into it," explains Francesc Llonch, of the commercial department of Gavà Grup. "I could not believe that the seed of a tomato with these features could simply be kept in a file."
Monterosa is an asymmetric ribbed tomato, with a velvety skin and striking sepals that give it a lush and voluptuous appearance. Its colour is intense pinkish when ripe and it has a herbaceous aroma.
"What stands out the most is its sweet flavour with a fruity finish, because unlike conventional tomatoes, it has no acidity," says Francesc Llonch. "It's a different tomato," he adds. "In addition to its taste, its main virtues are its large size, good shelf life and long production schedule, from December to June, which make it possible to offer continuity and quality to our customers."
This joint project between Semillas Fitó and Gavá Grup, carried out by its producer, Kopagro, and its marketing firm, Kopalmería, has succeeded in bringing the Monterosa tomato into the market. "We already have 27 hectares in Almeria, near Cabo de Gata, which is an ideal location for the tomato's production," he points out.
Our business strategy with the Monterosa is to grant exclusivity rights to our customers by country or region, depending on the size of the countries. It is sold as Premium tomato for gourmet consumption, so its price is higher than that of conventional tomatoes, given that "its production and management are more complicated, since it has a very thin skin and, among other things, requires soils with a really high conductivity."
According to Francesc, consumers are willing to pay a higher price for tomatoes with such flavour and there is certainly demand for them. "The problem in the eyes of the consumer is not that there are too many tomato varieties on the market, but that there is a lack of flavourful tomatoes."
"This is our first business year with significant volumes, so we are trying to reach consumers through many different sales channels, including both large supermarket chains and small greengrocers. So far, this tomato has not yet a preferred destination; we sell them to Eastern Europe, Baltic countries and even to traditional European markets."
Francesc assures that most supermarket chains in the countries which have this tomato are already asking for more. "We want to continue to grow, both in terms of sales and production. We hope to reach 45 hectares this year."
